I’m hoping that by compiling this “gifting guide,” I can help you make another photographer really happy this holiday!

Micro-Fiber Cleaning Cloth Pouch – $2.99 & up

When I discovered these little gizmos, I didn’t know how I had lived without them. They are simple micro-fiber lens cloths with two great features: 1) they scrunch up into an elastic pouch and 2) they have a plastic clasp that lets you clip them onto about anything.

These things are the perfect stocking stuffer for all levels of photographer. I recommend tossing a couple in your Amazon.com shopping cart the next time you order something (if you simply order the $3 lens cloth you’ll pay three times that in shipping – better to combine it with another order).

Bonus feature: they work great for glasses as well, not just camera lenses.

dSLR Camera Rain Sleeve – $8 (for two!)

This is one of those rare “too good to be true” deals that is actually true. For a mere $8 you get not one, but TWO rain sleeves that have drawstrings, an opening for the camera’s view finder, and an extension for an hotshoe flash.

If you’ve ever shot in the rain and tried using an umbrella or plastic bags to stay dry, you know it’s a nightmare. This rain sleeve by Opteka makes shooting in the rain something you don’t have to worry about (as long as you don’t mind getting wet yourself since it only covers the camera).

Tip: You can also use this sleeve when shoot at the beach or in other sandy/dusty locales.

Extension Tube for Macro Photography – $12 & up

Macro photography is a cool niche area that requires expensive, specialized equipment to accomplish. A 100mm Canon macro lens will set you back over $500! Why do you need a special “macro” lens to photograph tiny things? Those lenses are designed to let you get within inches of your subject and keep it in focus.

Extension tubes replicate that minimum focal distance effect by simply moving your non-macro lens farther away from the sensor in your camera. They are a much cheaper alternative for beginners who want to test the waters of macro photography without dropping half a grand.

There are a few drawbacks to extension tubes: 1) images aren’t near as sharp as real macro lenses and 2) you loose control of your lens’ aperture when shooting on an extension tube.

Bonus: Check out some video footage I shot with an extension tube on my Canon 7D.

Collapsible Reflector – $13 and up

When doing portrait photography, a reflector is a must-have. It lets you control light by reflecting or bouncing it onto your subject. I probably use it most to reduce harsh shadows on the face under the eyebrows, the nose, or bangs. If I’m shooting a closeup of a person, I’ll have them hold the reflector perpendicular to their chest (like a shelf) and it will bounce light up from below.

A simple $3 piece of whiteboard from the store will do the trick, but these cheap collapsible reflectors are much more easier to haul around and keep clean (they come with pouches).

For my Macon readers, I bought my reflector at Coke’s Camera downtown where they have several sizes availalbe.

Monopod – $15 and up

Tripods are great. There is no better way to keep your camera stable and maximize the sharpness of your image. However, tripods aren’t the most portable tools of the trade. The good (and expensive!) ones are heavy as all get out and you can sometimes miss a critical shot by fumbling around with the three legs of the beast. Also, a lot of places (museums, aquariums, stadiums, even some parks) have restrictions on tripods.

Monopods are the perfect compromise for the photographer who wants to keep the camera stable(-ish) and not have to haul around 4lbs of weight. You can even find some monopods out there that double as walking sticks (perfect for hikers!). Finally, many of the places that ban tripods will allow monopods (as was the case when I took the photo of Willie Nelson to the left).

Gary Fong’s “Puffer” Popup Flash Diffuser – $20

The pop-up flash on your camera is terrible. It’s not just your camera, it’s my camera as well. Actually it’s every camera’s built-in flash that is terrible. The main reason is that it creates a harsh light source directly over your camera’s lens which does not provide flattering light.

Gary Fong, one of the world’s top ten wedding photographers, has invented several flash diffusers to help create more flattering light. The Puffer simply slides into your camera’s hot shoe and places a curved, semi-opaque plastic in front of the pop-up flash. This diffuses the light making it softer (aka no bright oily spots on your subjects’ foreheads, cheeks, and chins) and creating less harsh shadows.

If you aren’t planning on making the jump to one of the expensive external flashes (they start around $200), then the Puffer is a must have accessory in your camera bag.

Gary Fong’s “Lightsphere” Flash Diffuser – $50

For photogs who do use external flash, Gary Fong’s world-famous “Lightsphere” is the ulimate flash diffuser for them. I like to joke that it looks like a ramen noodle bowl, but this thing works miracles.

Take a look at this photo to the left – I took that in a room in West Africa with virtually no light. Seriously, the room was pitch black and my hotshoe flash with a Lightsphere on top created all the light in that photo. Pretty incredible how natural it looks, huh? That’s why Fong has sold over 400,000 Lightspheres in the last six years.

50mm f/1.8 Lens – $100 and up

Most amateurs with a dSLR camera have the “kit lens” that comes with it. Often that lens is something in the range of 18-55mm and has a minimum aperture range of f/3.5-5.6. Those lenses are fine, especially for the cost. However, if you want to step your game up the 50mm f/1.8 is the most affordable, fast glass out there (fast glass means the aperture goes below f/3 allow more light in and therefore performing much better in low-light situations).

Every camera manufacturer has an inexpensive (relative to most lenses’ cost) 50mm available. Canon’s is a mere $100, Nikon’s runs around $125, and Sony’s is about $125 as well.

Not only do f/1.8 lenses do better in low-light, but they are incredibly sharp when shooting at f/4-f/8. Most importantly, when shooting “wide open” at f/1.8 you get insanely shallow depth of field. Take a look at the photo of the boy to the left. Notice how his eyes just seem to POP! It’s because they are in sharp focus and everything around them slowly fades into a blur. Even his shoulders, which are a mere 3-4 inches back from his eyes, are blurry!

Lensbaby – $100 and up

For the photographer who has everything, a Lensbaby is the ultimate gift to get them. I guarantee they don’t have one and they’ll be thrilled to receive one*.

What is a Lensbaby? Wow, that’s a difficult question to answer. It’s a sort of tilt-shift lens, meaning you can manually move its plane of focus causing certain areas of the image to blur. Take a look at the photo to the left of John Legend – notice how things seem to blur away from him, especially on the right.

There are several different flavors of Lensbabies. In fact, it isn’t just a lens, it’s a whole kit. You can swap out the type of glass (or plastic) in the lenses for different effects. You can get fish eye lenses, wide angle converters, and even tools to manipulate the bokeh (those blurry dots when things are out of focus).

Gift Certificate to Local Camera Store – Name your price

Still undecided as to what to get your photographer friend for Christmas? Or did you simply not understand a word of the geeky gadget talk above? There’s always the gift certificate option.

I know, I know. You’re thinking “but gift cards are so lame.” Here are several reasons why a gift certificate to a local camera store isn’t lame:

1. The fact that you got them a photography related certificate shows that you are supporting their hobby and art. That means a lot.
2. Especially if they are beginners or amateurs, they will benefit greatly from walking into a store and talking to a knowledgeable photographer behind the counter.
3. In these tough economic times, it is good to support your local, small businesses.
4. Your photographer friend just might use the gift certificate to print out a photo for you as a thank you. Oooo, win-win!

In my town of Macon, Georgia, I highly recommend F Stop Photography at 3780 Northside Drive (phone# 478-254-2310). They not only offer great printing services, but have loads of great gear (such as camera bags, tripods, books, and more).

Ten Gifts You Can Buy a Photographer for Christmas is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Watch this video in HD at Vimeo.

Merry Christmas from the Hauns! is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

2008 Christmas Card is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Watch this video in HD on Vimeo.

I’m experimenting with using the Lensbaby on my dSLR to create videos. My camera can continuously take about 3-4 images per second when shooting at the lowest JPG quality (still higher than HD). The video above was made during a walk with Heidi’s family one night. I was using my flash with the photos so the bursts were limited to about 20-25 shots each.

Lensbaby Video Experiment #1 is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Putting up the Christmas tree:

Cutting Trey’s hair:

Unloading the U-Haul:

Webcam Timelapses with Gawker is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

In years past we’ve made videos for Christmas cards (2006, 2005, 2002) but this year we commissioned Boyz2Men, the top artist in Nalerigu to paint our card for us. Merry Christmas to all!

2007 Hauns’ Christmas Card is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Credits

Haun Christmas 2006 Video is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

We also added a ton of extra stuff on the DVD – after all you’ve got 4.7gigs of space on there. Why let it go to waste? The Christmas Card teaser trailer is on there as well as some of our failed animation experiments. There is a “Year in Review” section with all the videos I have made this past year. Finally, there is a “Christmas Past” section that has all the past Christmas videos as well as narrated clips showing Christmas cards we handmade all the way back to 1999. That is one overstuffed Christmas package!

Haun Annual Christmas Card Ships! is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Music by Sufjan Stevens from the album “The Avalanche”

Early look at 2006 Christmas Card is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Credits

Haun Christmas 2005 Video is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Credits

Haun Christmas 2002 Video is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development